Colleges to partner in community MLK Day commemoration and celebration

Hesston College will partner with Bethel College and other community organizations to host “Community, Commemoration and Celebration,” a series of events honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, Jan. 18 and 19.

The weekend will highlight the historic connection between Dr. King and Bethel College, where he spoke in Memorial Hall on Jan. 21, 1960, delivering an address titled “The Future of Integration.” While excerpts of that speech have been played in Memorial Hall in the past, the full recording has never been publicly shared there.

The listening event is part of a collaborative effort between Hesston College and Bethel College, with additional partners including Newton Community for Racial Justice and the Newton Public Library.

Events begin Sunday, Jan. 18, with a 3 p.m. concert at Hesston Mennonite Church (309 S. Main St., Hesston). The program will feature combined Bethel and Hesston choirs, the Central Kansas Master Chorale and Bethel alumna Roz McCommon of Bellevue, Wash., along with her band.

On Monday, Jan. 19, Hesston College will host a community prayer breakfast at 8 a.m. in the Bontrager Student Center on the Hesston College campus (301 S. Main St.). Later that day, Newton Community for Racial Justice will sponsor an interactive escape room experience at the Newton Public Library (223 E. 7th St.) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The experience will feature clues connected to the history and legacy of Dr. King’s life and work.

The weekend continues Monday evening at Bethel College in North Newton. A listening event of Dr. King’s 1960 speech will take place at 6 p.m. in Memorial Hall (300 E. 27th St.). At 7 p.m., many of the musicians from Sunday’s concert, along with the Bethel orchestra, will present “A Better World: The Journey of MLK,” a project created by McCommon.

All events are free and open to the public. Additional details will be shared at bethelks.edu/MLK as the dates approach.